Anti-Fogging Treatments for New Masks. (a comparison of techniques)

[chillyinCanada]

wow, that's a long time not to dive!

LOL

 

[dmaziuk]

I have noticed that if divers are "nose breathers" it would fog up their mask no matter how much they scrubbed it.

I noticed that seadrops keep mine clear 99% of the time. I am a nose breather to the extent that easy breathing regs freeflow into my nose and out of my mask.

 

[salth2owannabe]

Apologize if this technique has been mentioned -
On my last couple of new masks I used a rounded cotton buff that mounts in a drill.
Applied some Novus plastic polish and the Novus fine scratch remover. Put it in my drill press on high rpms and buffed the heck out them. No film fog issues at all.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Don't have the time to read everything...
Now all that I learned about this topic. In Italy there is a manufacturer that makes scuba masks for Scubapro. They are Scubapro clones but without brand. 65 or 70 euros for the Scubapro, 20 euros for the unbranded clone. Provided a very good mask is 20 euros, and defogger can be around 5 or 6 euros per bottle, if you buy 4 bottles of defogger you pay them like a new very decent mask. Doesn't make much sense.

The solution is: spitting. Free of charge, doesn't harm the human eyes with chemicals, doesn't pollute the environment and you can't forget it at home

 

[greeniguana]

Last new mask I got (Cressi Evolution) I squirted Dawn detergent on each lens full strength, and rubbed it around with my finger covered with a damp paper towel. I rinsed out the Dawn and smeared a little Johnsons baby shampoo around inside. I put it away and let the baby shampoo dry. I rinsed out the baby shampoo next time I got in the water with it and it was fog free.

 

[Ana]

Don't have the time to read everything...
Now all that I learned about this topic. In Italy there is a manufacturer that makes scuba masks for Scubapro. They are Scubapro clones but without brand. 65 or 70 euros for the Scubapro, 20 euros for the unbranded clone. Provided a very good mask is 20 euros, and defogger can be around 5 or 6 euros per bottle, if you buy 4 bottles of defogger you pay them like a new very decent mask. Doesn't make much sense.

The solution is: spitting. Free of charge, doesn't harm the human eyes with chemicals, doesn't pollute the environment and you can't forget it at home

My husband agrees with your "technique" and has been a practitioner since the 60's... until he was faced with this mask from Satan, that is oh so pretty orange.

Now as much as I agree that 5 or 6 euros for a bottle of defogger seems excessive, under normal circumstances it only takes a couple of drops per dive, literally one drop on each side. Even a small bottle should last several hundred dives. I don't even know what's the price here in the US because I haven't purchased one in ages.

 

[АлександрД]

I should ressurect this topic from nonexistence
found nice article, related to protection tools from new covid-19 Задержать COVID-19. Все про фильтрацию воздуха на случай пандемии (FFP3 respirators and sealed glasses)

There is list or receipts for antifogging: (translation)
- alcohol, OP-7 or OP-10 (Surfactant, C9H19C6H4O(C2H4O)10OH, similar is Brij™-35) and casein

- Polysorbate 20 2g/l, Polyethylene glycol 5 g/l, chlorhexidine 0.02 g/l

- polyvinyl alcohol + oxyethylcellulose + chlorhexidine + water

- OP-7 or OP-10 (Surfactant, C9H19C6H4O(C2H4O)10OH, similar is Brij™-35) with acetic acid (vinegar) in relation 1:1, than put in the heater for 30-60 min at 85-90°С, stay at open air till became cold, and than remove drops of Surfactant

- by weight: 90% alcohol - 25 parts, Glycerine - 1,5-2 parts, Salt (NaCl) 1,0-2,0 parts, Methylene blue - 0.005 parts. Water - till 100.

So, may be it will helpful for you.
Also it shows the way to go for research

 

[lowviz]

Also it shows the way to go for research

Thanks for the kick in the pants to get this started again. I'll share where I am now: Totally perplexed, see pic below...

Finally, after the right side is flamed and both sides are de-fogged with baby shampoo. Both sides are clearly improved, but the flamed side is noticeably better.

Yes.

This problem of new mask fogging continues to frustrate me. (Apologies, been a while since I last posted but I haven't been sleeping on this issue) Read many, many articles since then.

Taking this to a higher level of experimentation based on observation below.

Until last month I thought this thread was a bit of an overkill... 30 pages ? just to clean a mask?

Yes, I am a believer too. One only needs to buy one of those 'special' masks that just won't stop fighting you.

Open dot is cigar lighter 4 seconds x 3. Solid dot is cigarette lighter (soot) 6 seconds x 3. Dot and circle are Colgate Regular, 6 seconds x 3. Cleaned with Dawn and a soft bottle brush to remove the soot. Rinsed with ultrapure water and allowed to dry.

To ID which treated area is which: https://www.scubaboard.com/community/attachments/cigar-jpg.510961/

All masks subsequently went through the dishwasher several times. Masks stored in a cardboard box. Removed without any treatment and test-fogged today.

The untreated side (only treatment was dishwasher) is fine! The toothpaste treatment and no-soot flaming were also fine. The soot flaming treatment was not very effective.

So the big question is: WHY IS THE TREATED SIDE FOGGED around the cigar-flamed and toothpaste areas???

(All four treated masks show this effect, this is the most dramatic one)

 

[Couv]

@lowviz Thank you for the update. Totally unexpected results! Is this also after using defog? I.e. one side flame treated and defog solution used; the other side only through the dishwasher and defog solution used?

Cheers,

Couv

 

[lowviz]

Totally unexpected results!

Indeed.

Is this also after using defog?

No. Those are the treated masks that were run through the dishwasher, dried, then put away in a cardboard box while I thought about and researched this...

What you see is a test mask fresh out of storage with no treatment before fogging. My old masks (that were seasoned by use) show the same resistance to fogging as the untreated (dishwasher only) side of a test mask.

I really hesitate to try whatever new treatment that I might think of on these masks. A group of eight new identical masks is a huge resource so I proceed cautiously. There is something to be learned about them in their current state if we are clever enough.

My impressions at this point:
Toothpaste: It works but it is a pain to do correctly. I used a cylindrical felt pad on a Dremel machine.
Flaming (soot): I'm not so impressed. I sort of remember someone saying that you have to really cover the lens...
Flaming (cigar lighter, no soot): It works but leaves residual strain in the lens. Lens still passes the ball-drop test.

Explain fogging on the treated side only:
Maybe the cigar and cigarette lighters caused something to migrate from the skirt?
Does anybody have another hypothesis?

Next experiments(?):
Place a small circular cutout from a mask skirt on the center of the untreated lens and heat from below.
Place a small droplet of Silicone 200 oil on the center of the untreated lens and heat from below.
Heat the reference side with a hot air gun to see if anything migrates from the skirt.

Other suggestions???